Cardi B's Triangular Met Gala Manicure Is Secretly Very Complicated

Using her lyrics as our research pool, we can make the assumption that "thick" is one of Cardi B's favorite adjectives. We were only waiting for the day she chose to apply the descriptor to her nails—and why not pick the 2024 Met Gala to premiere what's possibly the chunkiest manicure known to man?

Cardi B appeared on the 2024 Met Gala red carpet wearing a black tulle ball gown with a train so major that it took five assistants to unravel. With her hair piled oh-so-high on top of her head in a matching black tulle turban, she accessorized with gigantic diamond and emerald earrings. Still, the most major element of her look might just be her three-dimensional nail art.

While at first glance it appears she chose a simple lipstick shape with a tan base and jade-colored tip, there's much more to this design than originally meets the eye. You see, Cardi's nails are actually shaped into 3-D pyramids that grow out of each nail bed, reaching at least half an inch (maybe even three-quarters of an inch?) of thickness at their highest point.

The jade shade was painted on each side of the nail; should the manicure be flattened out, you'd see a very thick arrow-shaped design with an angular green tip.

The mother of two often entrusts her nail art to Jenny Bui, who we know tackled Marc Jacobs' nails for the evening. While Bui hasn't confirmed she's the mind behind Cardi's mani, it's quite likely—the funky shape and major length have all the markings of one of their collabs.

While the design itself might be hard to emulate without professional help, you can easily get the color of Cardi's manicure at home. The jade green her nail artist used is reminiscent of Olive & June's Besties or OPI's My Studio's On Spring, while the tan looks like Chanel's Le Vernis nail lacquer in Légende.

A little spooky and a lot artistic, it's the exact kind of manicure we hope to see on the Met Gala red carpet. Thank you, Cardi—I hope those talons don't make it too hard to eat your dinner.